Chapter 1: Raen.

"BRING THE BOY!" The black robed man on the large wooden platform shouted, reading from the scroll upon an intricately decorated podium.

The young male of no more than sixteen walked forwards through the crowed in front of two much taller men, both of whom wore metal plated armour and carried pikes as they escorted the boy. The boy stepped up onto the platform, the long hooded cloak he wore covered his features and dragged along behind him.

The guards pushed him forwards towards the robed man who gripped the hood of the boy's cloak. He slowly pulled it down revealing the boys face to the gathered crowd of townsfolk. His hair was a shocking light blue trailing down to below his ears ending in scarlet red tips. His fringe fell over his right eye leaving only his left visible, an emerald green eye scowling out over the heads of the crowd.

"This boy, known to be nothing more than a trouble-making homeless scavenger, not even deserving of a name in our city! This boy, has been causing trouble for too long, he is convicted of the following: thievery, public disruption, treason, even murder! No longer shall this vermin plague the great city of Larinskorp!" The robed man shouted out to the crowd receiving shouts and cheers of joy in reply. "I, Gravmir, of the king's high court, hereby sentence this boy to hang until death!" Another chorus of cheers erupted from the crowd as the guards pushed the unknown boy towards the noose in the centre of the wooden platform.

The boy walked towards the noose without resistance and remained still while the noose was tightened around his neck. "Any last words, for the people who you have caused so much trouble." Gravmir said through his mop of black hair, his face twisting into a smile.

"Go fuck yourself." The boy growled causing the court officials face to drop.

"Very well." Gravmir said walking back up to the podium, he faced the man by a lever and nodded his head. The executioner gripped the lever and pulled it. The floor dropped out beneath the boy's feet and he let himself drop catching his neck on the rope. The air slowly began to evade him as his breathing grew slower and strangled.

A tearing sound was heard and the rope above him split in two. He dropped to the floor as Gravmir turned to see an arrow wedged into the wooden platform after it tore through the rope. The boy quickly took advantage of his situation and ran, pulling the noose off of his neck as he went. He ducked his way through the crowds while the guards busied themselves looking for the source of the arrow.

He made it to an alleyway between two wooden houses just before a group of six guards ran past. A hand gripped his shoulder and he spun round stepping backwards. He looked at the dark figure before him and noticed it wasn't a guard but he turned to run all the same.

"Relax kid, I'm the one who saved you." A male voice spoke as the same hand gripped the boy's wrist. "We should be safe here for a few minutes, what's your name?" The man said again looking into the boy's emerald eye's, still glaring at anything nearby.

"I don't have one." The boy answered simply turning his head away from the man.

"Let's fix that then, as of know you're called Raen." The man said causing the now named Raen to look up at him.

"Ryan?" He asked mishearing the man.

"No no… Rai-en. I'm Kalrenshi, but everyone knows me as Kale." The man said. "I was just passing through and decided to help you, now how do we get out?"

"There's a secret passage leading out under the wall, it's on the other side of the town-square underneath a pile of barrels." Raen answered deciding to trust the man for now.

"Brilliant, think you can fight a couple of guards?" Kale asked again looking around the corner, he slipped a knife out of his pocket and held it tightly.

"I didn't survive being homeless without learning a few tricks." Raen smirked. He quickly reached out his hand to catch a second knife Kale had just tossed him.

"Don't show mercy." Kale said running out from the cover of the shadows and straight into the town centre. Raen watched Kale run at the guards, knife at the ready and he quickly sliced the closest ones throat. Raen then decided to follow and left the darkness. He quickly reached the commotion and dodged out of the way of a pike that was swung down at him. Raen jumped at the guard, throwing the both of them to the ground and managed to pin him in place. He raised his knife but stopped with his hand in the air.

"Kill him and lets go!" Kale shouted as he took out the last of the guards that were nearby. "They said you'd murdered before!"

"It was a false accusation ok!" Raen shouted back not being able to muster up enough willpower to kill the man beneath him.

"Dammit." Kale said under his breath before he threw his own knife into the skull of the pinned guard causing blood to splash over Raen. "Just hurry up!"

The two ran down the side of a building towards the pile of barrels Raen indicated. They quickly shifted a few barrels to the side to reveal a trapdoor like opening covered in a bit of grass to match the surroundings. "This should get us outside." Raen said pulling up on the cover and climbing into the underground passage. Kale soon followed pulling the cover back down over them.

The tunnel was small causing them to have to crouch low in order to move along. The walls were rocky and damp, lighting was low as they slowly made their way along towards the other end of the tunnel.

They exited the tunnel and shielded their eyes from the bright light of the sun. They were stood on a small rocky cliff. "Well… you're safe now so get going." Kale said turning around to walk away from Raen.

"Wait, you're leaving? Just like that?" Raen said shocked.

Kale stopped and turned around. "Look kid, I got work to do and I can't be dealing with you every step of the way." He said once again turning to leave before Raen stepped in front of him.

"Let me help! Otherwise you might as well have left me to hang." Raen shouted after him causing Kale to stop once more.

"My line of work is no place for a kid." Kale said harshly. Raen growled in anger clenching his fists as he stood staring into Kale's coal black eyes.

"I'm not a kid!" He shouted angrily. "I can prove myself if you give me a chance." Raen said determined not to be left alone anymore.

"Well aint you a stubborn one." Kale said before walking over to Raen. "Stand still." He said as he walked around Raen taking in his overall appearance. He was slim, not much muscle wise at all but after living on the streets with no home, that's to be expected, a reasonable height of roughly 5'11 from what Kale could judge. "When were you born?" Kale asked.

"What?" Raen said not feeling that it was a necessary question to ask.

"Answer."

"April 6th" Raen said still bewildered by the question.

"And nobody will worry where you are?" Kale asked as if he wasn't scrutinising every part of Raen's appearance.

"My parents died when I was seven, and you saw the townsfolk, they wanted to execute me, nobody even cared enough to remember my name. Not even myself." Raen said feeling a little hopeful that Kale will accept him.

"You can come along for now, but the others may want you tested before we accept you." Kale said giving in to Raen. He then set off down the cliff with Raen behind him.

Kale took a quick glance at the sun to figure out the time before turning to Raen. "We haven't got long until nightfall, it's not a long journey though." Kale said. "We could either camp out for the night or continue. Take your pick."

"Continue, I'd rather be as far from here as possible." Raen answered quickly as they reached the bottom of the cliff. They were stood by a small lake. The water rippled softly in the winds and the surrounding tree's shaded them from the harsh sunlight.

The two continued in silence, heading away from the sunset towards the east. Kale lead the way through the forests with his bow at the ready. "Keep an eye out for anything dangerous." Kale whispered.

"What could be dangerous around here?" Raen asked Kale who looked at him shocked.

"How far have you ever gone from the city?" Kale asked sounding worried.

"No further than the lake." Raen answered confused. "Why?"

"Because there's much danger in this world you won't know about, and in my line of work, you'll come into contact with a lot of it." Kale answered.

Raen nodded as they continued to move, he couldn't deny he grew slightly more worried with every step they took. The overgrown bushes made it difficult to navigate through the woods, and the shadows cast by the tree's made the atmosphere a whole lot more spooky.

"Where are we going anyway?" Raen asked as Kale shifted aside a branch to clear the path.

Kale didn't answer he merely drew an arrow from his quiver and raise his bow. He pulled back until he could feel the intense strain on the string before releasing the arrow. It flew through the air at high speeds and a few seconds later a yelp of pain was heard. Kale darted off towards the source of the noise and Raen struggled to fight his way through the thorny bushes as he tried to keep up.

He found Kale crouched down over the body of a human, an arrow sticking out from his neck. "Why'd you kill him!" Raen said shocked, the sight of the man lying dead with his eyes rolling back in his head made Raen feel sick.

"We have many enemies. They have been trying to find our hideout for years." Kale explained as pulled out his arrow letting blood pour onto the forest floor. "If they have this mark," Kale began, indicating a red shape, it was shaped like two curved lines in opposite directions with a horizontal line cross over the two. "The Clan Of Pisces, the sign of the fish. Our greatest enemies at this current time. Kill them on sight." Kale said his voice turning bitter towards the end.

"Clan?" Raen asked slightly confused.

"Yes, Clans. Twelve clans, twelve signs. You are lucky that your birthday lies within the boundaries of my clan." Kale said not feeling any need to explain further as of yet. "Hurry up. We should get home quick." Kale said.

Raen almost smiled, the idea of a home was the best thing he had heard in his life. Kale once again began running with Raen behind him. The two dashed through the undergrowth sometimes snagging their clothing on twigs or having to stop in case of nearby enemies.

They reached a small crack in a rocky wall and Kale slipped inside. It slowly widened and became higher leaving the two enough room to stand side by side in the rocky cave. Kale reached out and pushed his hand against a rock causing it to give way slightly. The cave wall beside Raen began to move causing him to jump back in shock.

As the wall slid to the side another section of cave came into view. Torches in brackets lined up along the walls and small carvings had been dug into the rock walls. A large iron door stood in the wall. Kale walked up and slammed his fist into the door a few times.

"Who's there?" A voice shouted from the other side.

"Relax, my friend. For the fire burns within me." Kale said, upon his words the door swung open to reveal another man waiting.

"So you returned, I trust all went well." The man said before he spotted Raen in the doorway. "And who might this be?"

"Raen, I saved him from his execution. Apparently quite the trouble maker and he wished to come along with me. His birth complies with the laws of our clan." Kale added the last bit on noticing the man's fearsome glare.

"Raen! You come here of your own will, before we allow you to join you must take the test. The sooner we begin the better." The man said as he walked further into the mountainside cave followed by Raen and Kale. "Even if your birth complies, it does not mean you posses the qualities to become a true member of The Clan Of Aries."

A/N: And that's is the first chapter of this story, please let me know what you think, if you like it I will update soon (I hope).